


Begin The Beguine

by theredghost



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: 1930s, Alternate Universe - 1930s, F/F, Fake AH Crew, Ghostie - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-12
Updated: 2017-10-12
Packaged: 2019-01-16 14:13:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12344295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theredghost/pseuds/theredghost
Summary: A heart to heart can be most surprising when you weren't expecting your heart to speak at all.





	1. The Meeting

The people of Los Santos still kept the streets pretty full, even at this late of an hour, and the crowds of people walked together, filling the sidewalk and chatting hot air to each other, in conversation for the rest of the night. 

Thursday night on Strawberry Avenue was a quiet night for any bar, but the streets remained busy; cars parked all along the road, young men and women all taking each other out for a more casual night, save the drinking for the weekend.

Tucked down on one of the side streets, a more inconspicuous bar kept its trade and profits tidy, even on dead nights like this. 

The Plucked Wing bar and speakeasy, cover up organisation for infamous mob No Angels, was unassuming and inoffensive, and the owners made sure to keep it that way. Ghostie, the leader of the mob and head bartender, was behind the bar wiping down the pumps after the first dozen or so patrons had visited in the past few hours. 

The bar usually echoed with emptiness as the music in the background shouted out to no reception, the dancefloor remaining empty and untrodden, and the chairs organised as neatly as when they were set out initially. 

Dressed in her typical white shirt and black waistcoat, and a towel flung over her shoulder, Ghostie kept up her appearance as not to attract suspicion - being a girl behind the bar would draw enough attention were the bar more prominent, but she hadn’t had any trouble so far. 

Ghostie, standing 6’5 without shoes, towered over most of the patrons that visited so any trouble that may have been brewing was pretty much nixed when they saw the powerful figure standing at the bar, her short jet black hair and steely brown eyes added to the effect. 

The clock on the wall rang past 11pm, and Ghostie smiled slightly as she waited for the chime of the door to signify the regular visit of her most recognisable guest. The woman would always arrive at around 11pm on her own and dance and drink for an hour or so before leaving again for next week. 

Ghostie had taken a shining to this frequent guest, her auburn hair that seemed frizzy yet soft under the yellow glow of the lights in the bar, her exquisite dress sense and sense of style, and how she carried herself, both in her dancing and as she walked about.

The door chimed and a small rush of cold autumn air raced into the bar, a quick chill brushing past Ghostie; the door slammed shut and the ruffling of coats being removed could be heard as the guest made her way into the centre of the bar.


	2. The Mixing

As she rounded the corner to stand parallel with the bar, Ghostie smiled again as she saw how beautiful this woman was, how she could pick out seemingly more and more freckles every time she saw this woman, how she always looked dressed up to the nines but always danced and drank alone, the effort seemed to be for no one but herself. 

The muted orange and white of the flapper dress the woman wore complimented her hair and skin tone beautifully, and the headband with a large white feather accented her hair as well; various amounts of white diamonds adorned necklaces and earrings and ring on the woman’s right ring finger. Simple black heels fitted her feet and she stood a good three inches taller than her normal height.

She had money, Ghostie could tell that on sight, but it wasn’t portrayed in an excessive way, there was subtlety and class to it. 

The woman, unknown by name to Ghostie but known in her social circle as Jack, found a seat right by where Ghostie was stood and placed her folded fur coat and her purse onto the barstool. 

“Hello there, again” smiled Ghostie, wanting to talk to Jack in any way she could, even just taking a drinks order was enough. 

“Hello! I’ll take a tonic water to begin with!” said Jack, leaning slightly against the bar, as Ghostie made her drink. Jack’s gaze flicked between Ghostie’s hands and her smile and her eyes and everything Jack could see of Ghostie. 

Ghostie placed the glass of tonic water in front of Jack and Jack handed Ghostie a $2 bill, and retreated to the dancefloor; Jack had always loved to dance on her own, and it was only in this quite of a bar that she got the chance to do it.

As Jack took her drink in hand walked to the dancefloor, Ghostie ducked behind the bar to change the record; the amount of times Jack had visited the bar, Ghostie had picked up on what songs Jack liked the most, and ‘Begin The Beguine’ by Artie Shaw seemed to breathe more life into Jack as she danced. 

Sure enough, when Ghostie began the record, Jack seemed to dance with more energy, the occasional whoop and cheer echoing across the dancefloor. It was only a three minute song, but every time it played, Ghostie couldn’t helped but watch Jack as she danced about.

As the song faded out Ghostie turned back behind the bar and began sorting out the glasses and mixers and stuff to keep everything in order, when she heard Jack’s voice from the dancefloor; 

"Hey, uh, you've played this record every time I've been here", said Jack with a slight smirk, "any reason?"


	3. The Moving

"Yeah uh y'know, we just uh don't have many records, so uh it all tends to get repeated pretty quickly, y'know, hear a lot of the same stuff" stammered Ghostie, the gaze of Jack's opal blue eyes from across the hall captivating her even from that distance. 

"Huh....well, what if I said that that was one of my favorites?" said Jack, a slight inclination in her voice, as she slowly walked across the floor to the bar.

"I'd say you got a great taste in music" chuckled Ghostie, slightly awkwardly; she'd never been great with conversation like this.

Jack reached the bar and slid herself onto the bar stool, leaning on the back of the chair and crossing her left leg over her right; she turned to Ghostie, still fumbling with the same glass she was cleaning twenty minutes ago, and looked Ghostie in the eyes.

"I do have good taste, don't I - and I gotta say, this bar is a lovely place. You haven't been here long, have you?" asked Jack, fetching a $20 bill from her purse. 

"No, only a....few months" replied Ghostie, only slightly falsifying the date as to cover her tracks; she puts a hand up to Jack as Ghostie begins to pour Jack's drink, "On the house, this one."

Jack put the bill back in her purse, "thank you - what is it, whiskey on the rocks and a sli-"

"Slice of lime, yeah." Ghostie smirked slightly as she caught sight of the impressed look that flashes across Jack's face. Jack had ordered the same drink every time she'd been in the bar, and Ghostie had made sure she learnt to mix it perfectly for Jack. 

Ghostie placed the drink down in front of Jack, and leaned back, trying to act as cool as possible to impress Jack; Jack took a tentative sip of her drink and gasped slightly as she swallowed, feeling the harshness of the whiskey burn slightly on her throat. 

"You like your whiskey strong, never seen another girl drink like it" said Ghostie, looking for any way to carry on talking to Jack. 

Jack took another sip and placed the glass on the counter, and looked at Ghostie.

"You wanna run in this world with the boys? You gotta drink like one. Or better than one in my case." smiled Jack, a smile Ghostie assumed to be about a drinking escapade of Jack's past. 

"You drink a lot then?" asked Ghostie, busying herself with glasses behind the bar. 

"Not really, I like my whiskey now and then, when I go out. You mix the best whiskey I've had, though, I gotta say." Jack lifted her glass to Ghostie in mock celebration and Ghostie had to turn away to stop herself from blushing so much. 

"I.. I saw you drink it every time you came in here, so y'know I wanted to get good at making it." Ghostie said, setting a glass on the shelf behind the bar, and turning to look square at Jack.


	4. The Moment

Jack took another sip of her drink and paused a second before setting the glass down and turning level with Ghostie. 

"You... you wanna know why I kept coming back here? Even though there are cheaper bars and louder bars and busier bars and so much else?" asked Jack, resting her hands together on the counter. "Its cos I knew I'd see you."

Ghostie had to pause for a second herself to take in what Jack had just said. 

"I'm.... I'm sorry?”

"Look this kinda work ain't safe for a girl like me, the guys don't understand, but I feel like....coming here and seeing you and dancing to that song just makes everything.... a bit more bearable, y'know" half mumbled Jack, not daring to make eye contact with Ghostie.

Ghostie stood up straight, looking around the room, trying to process what she'd heard.

"I shouldn't have said anything, I messed up" said Jack, grabbing her drink and downing the contents, and standing up from her barstool. 

"Wait, no, wait!" blurted out Ghostie, diving and managing to grab Jack's hand before she left.

Jack turned and looked at Ghostie, now not daring to break eye contact, she'd said what she wanted to say and now she needed to know how this beautiful girl behind the bar felt.

"I... just hang on a minute" said Ghostie, releasing the grip on Jack's hand and darting over to the record player; she rummaged through and found Jack's favorite song again, and placed it gently on the record player and set it going. 

As the opening notes fell out from the speaker, Ghostie walked back across the floor to Jack, keeping her head down slightly. 

"Look the only reason I was surprised when you said that was because, I.. fuck," Ghostie put her head in her hands and rubbed her eyes, quickly looking back at Jack, "cos I thought I was the only one in this game like it."

Jack looked at Ghostie with slight surprise, as she understood what Ghostie had just said to her. 

"You mean..." 

"Yeah." 

Jack looked at Ghostie again and as Jack felt small tears prick her eyes, she leaped forward and slid her hands onto Ghostie's cheeks, the warmth of the whiskey made its way through Jack's skin and warmed her hands to the touch.


	5. The Murk

Despite Jack standing a good three or four inches shorter than Ghostie, even with heels, Jack felt herself even closer to Ghostie than before, how all those weeks of visiting the bar just to see Ghostie, just to escape the nightlife for just an hour or so, had built up to now, and Jack felt both assured and nervous at how she felt. 

Jack's lips found Ghostie's and Ghostie did not hesitate to kiss back, and she tasted everything of Jack in that kiss, the undertones of the whiskey Ghostie felt in Jack's warm breath on her skin, and Ghostie brought her hands onto Jack's hips, if only to steady herself from the intensity of the kiss.

Jack finally broke the kiss and leant back, the smoky browns of Ghostie's eyes looked surreal and beautiful after how close the two of them just were. 

Ghostie was the first one to react, stepping back slightly as a smile broke across her face as she looked at Jack and smiled more and more. 

Jack felt the blush rise through her cheeks and the smile breaking through as well, and she couldn’t help but giggle slightly at Ghostie and her smile; Jack may be a bit more in love with Ghostie than she'd admit at this stage. 

"I..... wow, thank you" whispered Jack, loud enough for Ghostie to hear. 

"Thank you too" whispered Ghostie. Jack chuckles again, "all this kissing and i never caught your name." 

Ghostie smiles herself and replies "Imogen." Giving away her street name wouldn't be the best idea, especially to a potential rival crew member.

"That's a beautiful name - I'm Jack" 

"Never met a girl named Jack, either" smiled Ghostie. 

"Well now you have" chuckled Jack, as she turned to the bar to grab her coat and purse. 

Ghostie watched as Jack wrapped the fur coat around her shoulders and clutched her purse intently; Jack turned for the door, and stopped just as she was about to leave. 

Jack looked back to Ghostie and gave her that wink Ghostie had come to love; Jack exited the bar, and as the door slammed shut, Ghostie felt a radiating warmth through her as she remembered what it was like to kiss Jack. 

Ghostie walked back to the bar and covered up the cash register, switched off the lights and pumps behind her and pulled the blind on the window in the back room. 

She headed for the door, keys jangling in her pocket, and exited the bar into the cold, crisp night air of Los Santos, locking the door behind her.


End file.
